


The Bad Days: Then, Now and Soon to Come

by strange_nut_pirate



Series: OTP Prompt Oneshots [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Draco and Astoria are very caring partners to each other, Drastoria, F/M, Married Couple, Post-Hogwarts, Pregnancy, Terminal Illness, talks about the future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23524885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strange_nut_pirate/pseuds/strange_nut_pirate
Summary: Astoria is having a ‘bad day,’ to say the least. It means she’s in so much pain, she can’t do much but stay in bed. Draco is beside her, as he will always be. And that’s when Astoria tells him the news.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass/Draco Malfoy
Series: OTP Prompt Oneshots [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657651
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27





	The Bad Days: Then, Now and Soon to Come

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooooo! Upon writing this piece I’ve come to discover that I’m absolute Drastoria trash and love these two very much. We don’t get much of Astoria in canon, so I hope you like my interpretation of her and her relationship with Draco. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this mediocre oneshot, and tell me if I should write more of them if this isn’t too horrid! 🤍🤎🤍🤎
> 
> All prompts from— https://drink-it-write-it.tumblr.com/post/189074732022/200-prompts

**“I told you that I’d never leave you; I’m not going anywhere.”**

“When did you say that?”

Draco blanched.

“W-When I proposed to you!” He exclaimed, his cheeks heating up. 

_Oh no,_ he thought fearfully, _is she losing her memory?_

But then she laughed, pointing a teasing finger at him, and despite it, he relaxed. Because she was laughing and her laugh was beautiful.

“You’re so gullible,” she sighed, leaning back into the pillows that were propped up for her. She shot him a sly smirk. “And wholesome.”

“I’m not wholesome,” he huffed. “Didn’t you know I was one of the biggest bullies in school?”

“Daphne told me, but I never witnessed it,” she said. “Kind of wished I did, though, just so I can tease you about it now.”

“You don’t wish it. You probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with me if you’d known me then.”

“I _definitely_ would have. You’re too cute to not fall in love with.”

He blushed and looked away. 

Astoria was having a bad day. She was too weak to walk around properly, so she had to be in bed, which she was very annoyed about. Bad days weren’t anything out of the ordinary for Draco and Astoria, but Draco knew that she was more disappointed today, and he was too, because she had been doing so well recently. Her appetite had gotten bigger, and she was eating normally again. Her peachy complexion returned to her, giving her a healthy glow. She had been so happy and boisterous about it, that it was hard for Draco not to be either. She’d also had her strength back for a good while, and she spent most of the time dancing with him, and dancing with the House Elves, and dancing with herself. Astoria loved to dance, and Draco loved to watch her (he wasn’t an avid dancer himself, but when it was with her, he felt like nothing else in the world was worth more of his time). He’d spoiled her, taking her out on fancy dates, to fancy orchestras, to fancy restaurants where he bought her fancy flowers, and she would make fun of him.

And they had been in love, like how they were when they were young and Astoria’s illness wasn’t too bad.

And maybe the reason they went all out like that, was because deep down they both knew that it was the calm before the storm. Every time Astoria got better, and Draco let himself hope that it was permanent this time, _that_ was when the bad times came and took her from under him. It pulled her down into this incurable suffering and pain, and made Draco stand idly by, because there was nothing he could do except watch his loved one wither all over again. 

It was a horrible kind of torture.

“Draco,” Astoria said softly, touching his hand. He immediately took it in his. She smiled bravely at him, but he knew she was in pain. She was almost always in pain. “I mean it, I’m not going anywhere today. You should go out and enjoy yourself.”

They were meant to go to the opening of a bookstore on alchemy down in the North Side of Diagon Alley, but Astoria was clearly not up for it. She had wanted him to go on without him, but on the day he found out about her terminal state, he swore he wouldn’t leave her on the bad days. He was going to stick by that.

“I’m not leaving you here, Astoria,” he said stubbornly. “I never have and I never will.”

She didn’t say anything, which shocked Draco. Normally she would say something like ‘how very chivalrous’ or ‘it's hard to believe you’d choose me over alchemy’, but she was silent this time.

He squeezed her hand.

“I can’t be holding you back anymore, Draco,” she said, her voice unbearably small. “I know you love me, but I love you so much too. And it hurts to see you stuck in this house with me because you feel entitled to.”

Draco felt his heart starting to burst with all his love with her, love that he could barely contain because there was just so much of it. He kissed her cheek, as if that small act was enough to communicate how much he cherished her. No matter how quick she was with her tongue, she had always been too sensitive and kind. This wasn’t the first time they’d have this conversation.

“It wouldn’t be fun without you anyway,” he said to her. “It would be boring without you.”

“If we ever have a daughter or a son who likes to read, would you take them out to those bookstores?”

Draco blinked. _Where had that come from?_

“I mean,” he stammered, flustered at her sudden question, “of course. But you would come to. If not the kid would probably just be bored out of their brains.”

He waited for her to respond.

“You need to get your priorities right, love,” she said softly, and then she burst into tears.

Draco started to panic, as he did every time Astoria broke down in front of him. He guessed he should’ve been a bit used to it by now, since she cried over _almost_ everything, but he still felt extremely distressed when she did. He just wanted to fix what was wrong for her so badly, but most of the time he was clueless. Just like now.

He reached out and wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her back soothingly until she calmed down.

“Are you okay, darling?” He asked. He hated how she was shivering so much. 

She leaned into him.

“Draco,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm despite her distressed state, “I’m pregnant.”

Everything seemed to go quiet. Draco felt his whole world get pulled beneath him. It was like he didn’t exist anymore, like he was living in a dream. So he carried on in a daze, with the dream.

“Pregnant?”

“Yes, love,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze and rubbing her tears away with her other hand. “Two weeks in now. And I’ve known for about seven days.”

She smiled nervously, like how she did when she was afraid of disappointing Draco. But that couldn’t have been the way she smiled at him, because how could she let him down in a time like this?

A child… 

A child that was part him, and part Astoria… 

A _baby…_

“A baby…” he murmured, his heart rate picking up rapidly, as if to compensate for the moment when it had ceased its beating previously. “I’m going to be a father?”

Astoria’s eyes swelled with tears again, and then it all came out of her.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, Draco! I love you so very much, and when I found out, I thought that this may be the reason I’m so healthy! Pregnant women get healthy like that, right? And healthy women get pregnant. I’m pretty sure they do. And then I was so happy I cried for three straight hours! Remember the time you thought I was in the library reading for so long? I wasn’t! I was ugly sobbing in the bathroom, because I’ve always wanted a family with you, and now it was finally going to come true. Imagine raising a baby boy or a baby girl that was you, and me! It was all I could ever hope for. And I was going to tell you, I swear to Merlin! I wanted to tell you right away, love. But then I thought about how bad being pregnant could be for me, and I thought about you, always hovering around me. Always checking if I was comfortable, and was being there for me when I was in pain. You’re my anchor, Draco. Sometimes, when I’m in so much pain, I start to forget where I am, and who I am. I don’t even know my own name, or even _what_ I am, because the pain is so bad. But then you take my hand and kiss it, or squeeze it, or just hold it, and I know you’re there, and I remember after that. When I’m lost in pain, you pull me out, and you’re always there when I can see again. And you’re there and you’re healthy and you’re only suffering because of what I go through. And it always haunts me, the pain you have to go through because of me. I know it’s not my fault, but what I know and what I feel are very different things, Draco. And I thought about how you would treat me if you knew, and then I thought about what my curse would do to the baby.”

She looked at him, her eyes ablaze, wild. 

“What if something goes wrong in the pregnancy?” She said. “What if I miscarriage? What if the baby is born, and they are so unhealthy that they die within the first month, or day? Or hour? What if we only have our child for an hour, love? And then what would happen to us? Would we try to replace our child? How long do parents mourn over that? Forever? Would I make us suffer forever, Draco? Because I don’t want you to. I already have this curse, I will _not_ put you through that. I can’t. I won’t be able to live with myself. If I’m in unbearable pain, and you happen to still be there after all of that, and I see my own reflection in your face, I can’t. I just can’t do it, love.”

She shook her head, silent tears paving her beautiful face. 

About halfway through her ramble, the news about the upcoming child had settled in with Draco. But he had suppressed his feelings long enough to listen to his wife. He moved closer to her, pulling her to him. She immediately caved. She was shaking so much, Draco thought he may start crying too. 

“It’s funny how your biggest concern is me, dear,” he said, kissing her head. “Because what I care about is how the pregnancy is going to affect you.”

She looked at him with surprise.

“I don’t want you to get worse,” he continued. “And pregnancy comes with a lot of risks. Mood swings, contractions, morning sickness, pickiness, unhealthy cravings, substance refusal, postnatal depression, and not to mention labour! If you’re willing to go through all of that, you can’t push yourself! I’ll hover, but rightfully so.”

He set his jaw stubbornly.

Astoria stared, and then burst out laughing to Draco’s utter shock. Wasn’t she just sobbing? Has the mood swings already begun?

“Did you even listen to my deep and vulnerable rant?” She giggled, and then winced, so she lied back down.

“Yes,” Draco said softly, watching her. “You have at least one deep and vulnerable rant a day. It’s very emotionally draining being married to you.”

She grinned, putting her hand to touch his face. Her hand was so delicate, and she was so careful, like she was touching porcelain.

“So we’re really doing this?” She asked, and sighed. “I hope it’s a boy.”

“Why?”

“It’s probably less likely for our baby to get sick if they’re a boy,” she rubbed her tummy, and Draco imagined having a son like Astoria.

“Our baby,” he said, getting used to the word on his mouth. 

He peered at Astoria, and with the light from the bedroom window framing her gentle face, and soft brown curls, her blue eyes dancing with more life, Draco thought she had never looked more gorgeous.

But she managed to get more and more every day.


End file.
